Homeless Man Gets To Live In A 3D-Printed Tiny Home
70-year-old Tim Shea has progressed a lot since his time as a homeless heroin addict. In what looks like a 180-life transformation, in September, he moved to the outskirts of Austin to live in a 400-square-foot home built by a 3D printer from the company’s Icon.
“I could never have imagined where I came from that I would ever have this beautiful apartment,” Tim told the press recently and called his new home a “miracle”. Before living to live in the Community First! A village, a 51-acre site that houses 500 homes for the chronically homeless, Tim lived in a camper van.
Icon 3D homes printed with a Vulcan II printer have one bedroom, one bathroom, a full kitchen, a living room and a large porch, and give hope to many people with no place to call home. The company’s CEO Jason Ballard said their mission was to “make decent housing accessible to everyone, everywhere” and with Tim being the first proud resident of the 3D house, the future looks brighter than ever.
Formerly homeless man 70-year-old Tim Shea transformed his life when he became the first resident of a 3D printed house in a community in Austin, Texas, in September
Prior to this new permanent 3D home, Tim lived in the community in an RV. Previously, he struggled with drug addiction and like many seniors in the United States, was unable to maintain affordable housing.
Tim’s 400-square-foot 3D house was built with a Vulcan II 3D printer by the company ICON, which specializes in advanced construction technologies.
In an interview with NY Poster, Tim said his previous lifestyle made him hide from the world. “I think from my personal experience of my previous way of life that I developed a shell. I didn’t feel safe, and whenever I had the chance, I would hide or isolate myself. I never really wanted to interact with people. “
Tim is said to be the first occupant of one of the 3D printed house
But after moving into her new home in September, at the Community First! In the village, he had his life completely changed. “Everything I do is quite the opposite, and I have a lot of activities every day with others,” he said.
The house is located at Community First! A village is known for its high-level vision of homeless housing
At first, Tim couldn’t believe he would be the first person living in a 3D printed house like this. “When I found out I was going to be the first person in the United States to move to a 3D-printed home, I thought it was pretty awesome. The people I used to run away from, I run. If you’ve been on both sides of the fence, you know some people just need a little bit of encouragement and support, ”he said. NY Poster.
After moving to a beautiful 3D house, Tim’s life changed drastically
Tim’s 3D house is located in the Community First! A village that helped homeless people with shelter, community and support. Alan Graham, a real estate developer and founder of the village as well as the project called Mobile Phones & Fish, is helping others find a place to call home over the past two decades.
ICON has so far developed six different 3D homes, all with different layouts
According to Graham, “Home is essentially a place of connection and of life-giving and basic relationships.” His goal is to “make everyone feel at home, ultimately inviting those who live along the edge of society, into your heart.”
Tim says “it’s just a miracle to me that I live there in such a beautiful house”
Tim’s 3D printed home isn’t the only one in town. ICON has built 6 3D homes, all with different layouts for different needs to shelter the homeless on the site. Tim chose an open floor layout because he has arthritis.
His 3D house has one bedroom, one bathroom, full kitchen, living room and porch
The project was made possible by an ongoing partnership between ICON, the construction technology company, and Austin’s nonprofit Mobile Loaves & Fishes.
Alan Graham, the founder and CEO of Mobile Loaves & Fishes, commented on the project: “Vulnerable populations like the homeless are never among the first to access new things, but now here in Austin, Texas, they are among the first in line, who will live in some of the most unique homes ever built – and we think that’s a beautiful thing. “
To find out more about this amazing project, Bored Panda contacted Brooke Bauguess, vice president of Communications and Public Affairs at ICON. ICON is an Austin-based construction technology company using 3D robotics, programs and advanced materials to change the paradigm of home building.
ICON believes that “3D printing will be the preferred method of homebuilding in the future and tends to be a pioneer of the technology that has the potential to end homelessness,” Brooke told us.
“The United States needs 3.3 million homes a year and is currently building 1.3 million. 3D printing construction can help deliver robust, sustainable, decent housing across the United States and the world. “
Tim, who overcame drug addiction, chose an open floor plan because of arthritis
ICON has delivered two dozen 3D-printed homes across Mexico and the United States, including social housing projects with nonprofit organizations, major housing developments with developers and more.
The ICON printer is controlled by a tablet remotely and takes a crew of four to six people to build a house
“We appreciate the opportunity to see our technology deliver homes for those in need in Mexico and serve those who have experienced homelessness in central Texas,” Brooke said and continued, “Tim Shea in particular is the first person to ever live in an ICON 3D printed home. We worked closely to design and select furniture in this project in particular and are thrilled to see him thrive in his new home. “
A special concrete formula was used for the project and applied by a 3D printer, which is basically just a concrete nozzle at the end of a giant robot arm.
“ICON at its heart is an innovation for a better future,” said Jason Ballard, co-founder and CEO of ICON. We will have to risk some if we want a better world for ourselves, and the team at Mobile Loaves & Fishes shares a similar vision in their efforts to empower the community around them in a lifestyle of service to the homeless. We need a radical rethinking of the way we approach solving troubling problems in our society such as homelessness. Ultimately, this is about people and about human dignity. “
Many people praised the project and its ability to help those in need.
Watch this space for more information on that. Stay tuned to Feeta Blog for the latest updates about Architrcture, Lifestyle and Interior Design.
Homeless Man Gets To Live In A 3D-Printed Tiny Home
- Published in 3d printed houses, 3d printers, 700-page, Architecture, Austin, Community First Village for the homeless, Homepage featured, homes constructed with 3D printer, icon, Icon's 3D Printer, People, Technology, Texas, the first homeless man to live in a 3D printed house, the future of housing, Tim Shea
Lithuania And Poland Built A ‘Portal’ Connecting Two Of Their Cities And People Are Loving It
Society is evolving and we have gone a long way from slavery and women not being able to vote. But we still have room for improvement: stop discriminating against different people, accepting people who think, dress, speak differently than we do.
Separation between people is a problem as old as the world, but it needs modern solutions. The internet is now everywhere in a “portal” open in two European cities, Vilnius and Lublin, which was built just to shorten the distance between us and them. Not only is the meaning behind this project amazing, but it also looks so cool and futuristic.
The city of Vilnius in Lithuania and the city of Lublin in Poland are now linked by a portal in which they can see each other.
The portal has a circular shape that symbolizes the wheel of time, and in science fiction, it represents space and time that link back to the circle as a portal. This virtual bridge between the capital of Lithuania, Vilnius, and one of the oldest Polish cities, Lublin, is the first of its kind. In Vilnius, the portal can be found next to Vilnius railway station. Meanwhile, in Lublin, he resides on Plac Litewski.
These 2 cities have a historical connection, as the Lublin Union was signed on 1 July 1569 between Poland and Lithuania in that same city. This union created a single state, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, one of the largest countries in Europe at the time. Bored Panda contacted the PORTAL team and asked if this was planned. Apparently, it was an unexpected coincidence. They contacted various cities abroad that would collaborate for this project and the circumstances lead to that city being Lublin. It is truly symbolic that these two cities are spreading the message behind the project, which must be unified and not separated.
This circle with a screen that looks like a portal to another dimension actually allows you to see people in the other city and wave at them
The ‘portals’ both have screens and cameras to broadcast the other city live. The view you see on the screen is similar to what astronauts see looking at the world below.
It’s called a “surveillance effect” and astronauts experience it when they see Earth in space, so little, so delicately in this big world.
Hazzaa Ali Almansoori, the first person from the United Arab Emirates in space, said “It’s amazing how space brings everyone together. No matter what country you come from, no matter what your religion or background, it unites everyone … Our goal is one: it is for humanity. ”
The portal is now silent as it would be technically difficult to have a sound 24/7, however, it is possible and for special events, it will be done.
Despite this, the creators of the project believe that people will find a way to communicate. They’ve noticed people waving, sending kisses or doing push-ups, so they’re still involved.
The team told us that “it seems that with physical measures like the PORTAL the internal psychological barriers disappear and people enthusiastically participate in the activity in front of the portal and are friendly to each other. Most of them do not need encouragement and access the portal with curiosity or maybe they just crave a human relationship during this pandemic. ”They think that starting a conversation with complete strangers only on the street would present difficulties and it seems that the portal makes people more relaxed.
The message behind the PORTAL project is to make people forget about the separation between us and them and just see our planet united
The main goal of the project is to connect people. On the official website, they say “Surrounding ourselves only with those who are close and speak the same language gives us comfort and a sense of stability. It also limits the worldview to our narrow inner circle. Slowly it becomes a perfect space for awakening insecurities to outsiders and a perfect excuse to be careless about the world that belongs to them. Every day there is less room for dialogue, empathy and compassion to feel and be united in our home – a tiny spaceship Earth rapidly decaying because of too many of them and too few of us. It’s so easy to believe we’re all a wave and forget we’re an ocean too. Let’s transcend this sense of separation and be pioneers of unity. ”
It almost seems like we welcome aliens to Earth, but sometimes we treat humans as if they’re not from this planet and don’t deserve to be here. The person behind the idea, Benedict Gylys, says many of the potentially deadly challenges humanity faces, such as polarization and climate change, have been caused by a lack of understanding of others and of the world at large. So the PORTER must unite people and it is an invitation to rise above the illusion of division that we ourselves have created.
This cool idea was shared on Reddit and the post received 140k likes in less than 24 hours
Although it is not a portal that we see in movies or read in books, it is nevertheless the closest to teleportation and it is so cool that you can only communicate with random people on the street who are hundreds of miles away.
It caught the attention of Redditors like the post about it got 140k votes in less than a day. People joked about Stargate and that if you go through it, you will end up in Poland. It seems that people liked this idea, but others shared that something similar happened where they live, but it didn’t last long as people started abusing the portal.
The project had its challenges, “First, it was a challenge to draft a project for the PORTFOLIO, which is minimal and simple, but able to fit all the complex electronics inside and prevent vandalism and negative environmental impact.” Then the project had to be carried out and after many tests, it was chosen to use “concrete, stainless steel and tempered glass to build these 11 tons wide two meters by two meters.”
It all came true because the people at Vilnius Gediminas Technical University Creative and Innovation Center “LinkMenų manufactures” were crazy enough to believe in the idea and were able to realize it.
The brain behind the project is Benedict Gylys and it took 5 years to realize the idea
The project was completed during a pandemic, when travel within the borders may have restrictions, so travel to other countries is hardly disputed. The creators of Vilnius Technique have been working on the portal for 5 years and now was the best time to introduce it publicly when everyone is so isolated and eager to taste something new a bit.
There are plans to open more of these portals in various cities in the world and connect even more people
The portal between Vilnius and Lublin was the first in the world, but it will not be the last. The creators of the project hope to connect dozens of cities around the world and two new ones are expected to open soon: one in Reykjavik, Iceland and another in London, United Kingdom.
The team revealed that Reykjavik was chosen because of the very important historical story that links it to Lithuania: Iceland was the first to recognize Lithuania’s independence in 1991 and Lithuanians appreciate it and want to continue the partnership between the countries. Also, Reykjavik contrasts perfectly with Vilnius.
London is important to them as they begin a friendship with another international initiative.
Image credits: Benedict Gylys Foundation
Now Vilnius is linked to Lublin and will last until August. Then it will move to another city. The project creators think that maybe in the future the portals will change cities every 10 minutes more or less because they are open to anyone who would like to join.
Although the cities will have a limited connection time, the project has no time limit, “the project will continue until the destruction of the planet or the end of the problems that cause the separation between people.”
What do you think of this idea? Would you like to see such a ‘portal’ in your city? Let us know your thoughts on this project in the comments.
More than 2k people shared their reactions to this “portal” on Reddit and most of them thought it was a cool idea.
Meanwhile, if you want to read more such exciting lifestyle guides and informative property updates, stay tuned to Feeta Blog — Pakistan’s best real estate blog.
Lithuania And Poland Built A ‘Portal’ Connecting Two Of Their Cities And People Are Loving It
- Published in 700-page, Architecture, Art, Benediktas Gylys, Design, Homepage featured, Lithuania, lublin, News, News & Updates, News and Update, People, Poland, portal, portal between cities, project portal, reddit, stargate, Technology, vilnius, virtual bridge